26 years before Gladiator, this female Spartacus was a success thanks to the formidable Pam Grier.

After Spartacus and before Gladiator, this epic took the basic ingredients of two films, putting actors in the lead roles rather than just any actors: one black and one white, united in the midst of the struggles against oppression of the 70s.

But the film, above all, was designed to show the struggle of women and, if possible, emphasize their favorable appearance. This is the whole paradox of the gladiator revolt!

Social background, but primarily exploitation cinema

In Brundisium, a group of slaves were sold to Timarchus, the organizer of the arena fights and games. The latter has the idea of ​​having the young women fight to the death, except that two of them will do anything to escape.

Filmed in 1973, Arena was released in theaters in February 1976 under the title Revolt of the Gladiators or even Revolt of the Maidens. It stars Pam Grier, a rising star at the time who had recently made risqué films like Coffee, Black Panther of Harlem (1973) and the women-in-prison-themed Black Mother with White Mother (1973) or Women. In Cages (1971).

Grier and his co-star Margaret Markov are the protagonists of the Spartacus-inspired story, with slaves forced to fight in the arena before rebelling against their “master” and winning freedom at the edge of the sword. To attract the male audience, there are purely gratuitous nudity scenes, but also fights that are quite well executed, although lacking the slightest epic breath. The film will be a success, especially thanks to the presence of Pam Grier.

Who actually directed the movie?

in the work Scorsese ScorseseThe director of Goodfellas reveals that the film’s producer, the famous Roger Corman, offered to direct. Instead, he would film Mean Streets, which would launch his career. Ultimately, Arena is a four-handed feature film.

Steve Carver (Capone with Ben Gazzara and Eye for an Eye with Chuck Norris) directs the dialogue scenes, while Joe D’Amato (Inferno of Heroes) handles the arena fight sequences.

Depending on whether you see the American or Italian cut of the film, either Steve Carver or D’Amato (aka Michael Votruba) is credited as the director. More information? D’Amato also signed on for photo direction, but under another pseudonym: Aristide Massaccesi. In short, such a beautiful mess that only the exhibition cinema gave us!

Remake

In 2001, Arena underwent a remake, directed by the inimitable Timur Bekmambetov, starring two Playboy Playmates: Karen MacDougall and Lisa Dergan, all again produced by Roger Corman. They never serve you as well as they serve themselves.